Tag to Restoration
by Nix1978
Summary: Tag to CM 8x18 Restoration.
1. Chapter 1

**Tag to 8x18: So, I watched Restoration this morning which was great. Shemar was awesome as usual, but there was obviously one big thing missing in the episode…. Of course Emily. So I had to write a little something to add on to the episode. I know many won't have seen it yet as it hasn't aired in the US, so this may be a little spoilerish ;) It won't be my best work as I've just written it quickly today as the thoughts popped in to my head… so I apologise if it's not that good. **

He undid the screws and slowly opened up the wooden frames that covered the tall windows, a stream of dull sunlight brightening up the darkened room. He stared at the scaffolding that adorned the outside of this beautiful old building. He wasn't even half way to fixing this place up, but he was excited for the finished product; He would put his heart and soul… his every last spare minute into restoring this to the magnificence it once was over the following weeks and months….. He needed this focus.

He felt the vibration of his cell against his leg and he closed his eyes, just wanting silence. Just wanting to be left alone. But as always, there was no ignoring a call. There could always be another case.

He half smiled though seeing her face light up his screen, and if he hadn't of had his cell on silent, he would have recognised her special ringtone straight away. For a couple of seconds he was pleased to see her face; Happy that it was her and no one else, but in a flash it disappeared and a nauseous feeling fell upon him. He lifted the cell to his ear slowly and accepted the call;

"Hey." He uttered.

"Hey." She whispered back gently.

He knew…..

"Who called you?" He asked swiftly.

She waited a few beats before answering, trying to figure out how best to answer. She wouldn't lie to him, but…

"It's ok." He interrupted her silent musings, "I'm not mad."

"JJ." She told him, "She called me and told me about Buford."

He felt his breath catch in his throat and his chest constrict. He knew everyone knew he had a history with Buford. He knew they knew something had gone on between them, but never the detail. He guessed they'd figured it out…. They were profilers after all… but not the detail. No one knew that aside from his counsellor, and even then it was only enough to get him through the sessions and out of there as fast as he could.

Emily had met his mother however. She knew about his running with the gang. She'd been to the centre where his nightmares and his future had begun. She knew a lot, had no doubt put the pieces of the puzzle together, but had never asked the detail. No one had. He wasn't sure whether that was for his benefit or that they just didn't want to face it. Didn't want to think of him being the victim. Going through that pain…. Just like he didn't.

He wanted to ask her what she knew now, but before he could speak, as if she read him she continued, "She told me Buford was dead." She said.

Before he knew it, he felt a long breath escape his lips, as if he were relieved, the intense pressure on his chest releasing….. just a little. But he still had to know.

"What else did she tell you?"

"Just that you talked to everyone about what happened. She didn't tell me anything else Derek." She assured, "She knows that's for you to tell."

She listened to the silence, imagining him stood there, frozen, may be in a panic. May be angry. May be lost.

"But that's not why I called Derek." She continued softly, "I didn't call to ask you to tell me what happened."

"You didn't?"

"No." She offered, "I just wanted to hear your voice. I just wanted to know that you were ok."

He forced a smile even though she couldn't see him, hoping it would resonate in his voice, "I'm fine." He uttered.

And she really wanted to believe him, but she knew it was a ridiculous question with what had just happened. She cursed herself inside, angry that may be she had called him for her own benefit; she knew he would tell her that he was ok and that would make _her_ feel better. That's what Derek Morgan did. Looked out for everyone else, putting his demons at the back of the queue. In to the back of his mind. So all she could do was be honest. She owed him that much.

"I'm sorry I'm not there Derek." She almost whispered, the guilt evident in each thick word.

"It's ok. I can't be helped. I appreciate the call though. I will be fine. I promise."

His words sounded empty and rehearsed. She wondered if he had, or expected to have this exact conversation with every person he knew that had seen him on that news broadcast. She wasn't going to tell him she saw it. Not yet. So, she attempted a change of subject;

"Where are all the others?" She asked. "Are you with them?"

"No. I left them eating my mama's peach cobbler."

"Mmmm." She hummed, "That stuff is good." She almost sung.

"I saved a piece." He said, "I'll save it for you. My mama always makes enough for you." He smiled.

She smiled too and let her thoughts wander to every time they shared a piece of pie…. Derek loved pie, but would always offer to share with her, knowing she would never have a full piece to herself. But she was pulled out of her memories as she heard his quiet voice again.

"When are you coming back?" He asked, his words now devoid of the hint of warmness from a second ago.

She stuttered, but before she could answer he qualified his question;

"For a visit I mean." He added.

She grimaced at the end of the line, not having an answer she wanted to give, "I don't know Derek. It's so busy here, I'm not sure when I can get the time off."

"I understand."

"But why don't you….."

"What?"

"Why don't you come here? Come to London. You must be due some vacation."

"I guess." He shrugged.

"Derek, your last vacation…. you worked right through it remember."

He gave a small chuckle, "I did."

"So what d'you think? Ask Hotch."

"You're serious aren't' you?"

"Of course I am. Ask Hotch."

"I will."

"Now."

He laughed, "Sure."

"I mean it Derek. Put down the phone to me now and call him."

"What's the rush?"

"If you don't do it now, another case will come in and three months down line we'll still be talking about it. C'mon, you deserve a break."

Truth was, she truly believed he needed it. The last year and a half had been hard on Derek Morgan and selfishly she wanted to see him to know for sure that he was ok.

"Ok." He conceded, "I'll him now."

"Call me back then when you're done."

"I will." He uttered, smiling inside at her bossiness coming through.

"Speak to you in a bit then." She said, and he could hear an ever so slight twinge of excitement in her tone.

"Yeah… and Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." He whispered.

"You're more than welcome Derek."

~~CM~~

Three days later and he was sat, looking out of the small round plane window as it touched down on the runway. It was dark outside and he'd sat mesmerised by the lights as they had flown over the land for the past thirty minutes.

As he walked out into the arrivals hall, he saw the back of her. She had her cell to her ear and was deep in conversation. She jumped as he tapped her on the shoulder, and realising it was him, she turned, telling whoever was on the other end of the line she had to go. He was sure the person did not get to say goodbye, but that was not his concern as she wrapped her arms around his neck, taking him into a hug. His arms snaked around her waist and she held onto him a little tighter and for a little longer than she had the last time he saw her right here in London. As she squeezed him, he felt something transfer from her to him; it was a warmth. An 'I'm sorry. An 'I'm right here'. An 'It's good to see you', and he closed his eyes taking in every last feel of it.

"Ok." She said pulling away, but letting her hands linger on his arms, "Let's get out of here. I suppose you're exhausted."

He shrugged, "Not really."

She shook her head, rolling her eyes in annoyance with herself, "Oh, I always forget… Washington time."

"Yeah." He smiled, "But if you're tired, you go to bed when we get back. It's fine."

"No." She waved away, "It's Saturday tomorrow, so no work for me."

She linked her arm into his and they began to walk toward the exit.

"I have so much stuff planned for us." She said.

"Really? I thought you were working."

"I managed to move some stuff around and I can do some work from home. You got me entirely to yourself for the next few days providing nothing new comes in, then I am back to work, but I'll keep the hours short."

"You sure that's ok?"

"Hey, I'm the boss aren't I?"

"Of course." He chuckled. "So what's all this stuff you got planned?"

"Well, there's so much to see and do here and I've done none of it."

He cocked a brow, "So that's why you got me here. To be your sightseeing buddy."

"You got it." She said, turning to flash a cheeky smile at him.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow then?"

"Actually, rain is forecast tomorrow, so we're doing nothing but hibernating in the flat, watching movies and eating very very bad food."

"Very bad food? Haven't done that in a while. Not since…. since you were still in DC actually."

"Well I'm glad I can be a bad influence then. I got chips, or crisps as they're called here. Pizza, peanut butter cookies and ice cream.

He stopped, in turn causing her to halt and looked at her, "What flavour ice cream?"

She frowned at him, as if she couldn't understand why he was questioning her, "Rocky road of course. Your favourite."

His face broke out into a smile and a breathy chuckle left his lips and silently, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they made out into the cold night air of London.

~~CM~~

It was eleven o'clock and the rain was beating on the windows, the wind blowing so hard that the rickety old fire escape out side Emily's flat was creaking against the concrete walls. The fire was on and the room was toasty warm. They'd eaten take out as she'd gone to pick him up from the airport straight from work and hadn't been able, or realistically had no desire to cook. She'd shown him to the spare room and he'd thrown his stuff in the corner of the room.

"Well." He said, walking from his bedroom for the next couple of weeks, fresh from a shower, "I think that bed is going to be way more comfortable than this sofa I had to sleep on last time."

She looked up from the magazine she was reading, curled up at one end of the said sofa, and placed it on the floor beside the chair. "Hey, Garcia did say she was willing to share." She winked.

"Garcia's all talk." He smiled, sitting down next to her.

She leaned over to the coffee table and picked up one of two large glasses of red wine, "Here, I got you this."

He accepted the goblet of red liquid and took a sip, letting out a satisfied sigh, "That is just what I needed. This is good stuff."

"Only the best." She smiled.

He took another large sip and placed the glass back down. As he sat up, he saw her staring at him and as he caught her eye, she changed her expression suddenly. She attempted to hide the concerned, but what he perceived as pitiful look with a smile, but it turned into somewhat of a mixture of a grimace and a smirk.

He took a deep breath and pursed his lips, "Ok, let's get this over with."

"What?" She said shaking her head, feigning bewilderment.

"The white elephant in the room. Let's get rid of it. Let's talk about what just happened."

"Honestly Derek, you don't have to….."

"Yes." He interrupted, "Yes I do, or else you won't stop looking at me like that the whole time I'm here."

"Like what?"

"Emily." He almost sighed, giving her the look of an annoyed teacher.

"Ok. Ok." She surrendered, "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you."

"It's ok. I know I'm guilty of doing exactly the same to you in the past."

She smiled lightly, "Ok." She said softly, "Let's talk about it."

She gave him time to find the right words to start with. A story that had so many facets, so may twists and turns was a difficult one to tell.

"So." He began, not looking at her, but down at his hands that were rested in his lap, "You know what he did to me. I know you saw the news and I know you knew stuff from a few years back in Chicago."

"Yeah." She whispered, watching him intently.

"How come you never asked me about it?" He asked, turning to face her.

"It was your story to tell Derek. I wasn't going to try and force you into talking about it… Into doing something you didn't want to. God knows you had enough of that in your life. I figured if you were ever ready, then you would talk about it… Like now."

He gave her a weak, grateful smile, "I guess the truth is I thought I'd buried it and that there was no reason to talk about it anymore. I thought Buford being locked up was the end of it for me. But when I saw him the other day in prison, for a short while in that room with him, he had me…. He had me again."

She watched as he tensed up and his tone was angry…. "I was frozen." He continued, "Under his spell…. For just a couple of seconds…. He still looked at me that way. The way he used to. I mean, I know he likes boys. Young boys, but he still looked at me like…."

He halted. He didn't want to say the words out loud.

"Don't be angry with yourself Derek." She said gently.

He looked to her with a surprised expression, "I'm not." He said.

"You are. You're angry at yourself for letting him to get to you that way." She shook her head, "It is not your fault. Some people can just do that to us. Get under our skin."

He contemplated her words. He knew she was right. He had thought he'd buried it. He had thought it didn't affect him anymore; That he had dealt with it. Put it in a little box and fastened it up a long time ago. But in that room with Buford, just for a few seconds, it felt like being right back in that cabin.

"Do you think it ever goes away?" He asked.

She let her head fall to the side and looked at him with narrowed eyes, "What?"

"Buford's dead right?"

She nodded.

"Does that make it go away?"

She stared at him, her gaze saddening and her body almost slumping. She knew what he wanted to hear. She knew what he wanted her to tell him, and for a split second she considered lying and telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. But, it was only for a split second. She could not do that to him. She could not betray him.

She lowered her gaze and took a long breath, shaking her head slightly as she exhaled, "Derek." She whispered, "You know it doesn't go away. They're in here right?" She said, tapping a finger lightly against the side of her head.

"So if that's the case, why did you run away? From us? Why did you run here if it doesn't go away?"

"I….." She hesitated and her eyes widened, taken aback by his question. This wasn't supposed to be about her.

"Sorry." He said briefly touching her wrist, "I didn't mean that to come out that way. I just wondered if it fixed things for you. Did coming here help?"

She nodded, "In a way, yes, but it's different for me."

"But Doyle is dead."

"He is…. and he _is_ still in my head. I'm reminded of him every time I look in the mirror. But that's not what I was running from." She explained, "Every day I was reminded of Doyle in one way or another…. A case, a victim, an unsub, something one of you said, and it reminded me of what I did to you guys. What I put you through. I was a coward Derek. I didn't want to face those feelings."

He laughed, but there was no humour. "Emily, you are least cowardly person I have ever known."

She pressed her lips together in a subdued smile, "May be in front of an unsub. May be in front of the monsters out there, the bad guys…. but in front of you guys…." She shook her head, "The people I love and care about, I was a coward. I couldn't live with the constant reminders of what happened and the pain I caused you all."

"But that wasn't you fault."

"In a way it was. I was adult and I put myself in a situation I knew could go bad. And that decision played out not only in my life, but all of yours….. But you were a child Derek. A young boy who had gone through hell already losing his father…. And then someone came along and took advantage of that. You did absolutely nothing wrong and you made no bad decisions."

"What about Rodney? What about running with those gangbangers?"

"But that had nothing to do with Buford. With what he did to you. Nothing you could have done would have deserved what he did…. and not only that, but you went on to live your life with your head held high. You went on to grow into a great man, not letting anyone else bear the burdens of what happened to you. You sheltered the people who loved you from the truth."

"You tried to do that too."

She smiled, "It didn't quite work out too well in my case though eh?"

"I guess, but you did it for the right reasons."

"May be." She said, offering a thankful smile.

"But you know, you say I'm a good man and I know I do good things, but there is something that bothers me about myself sometimes."

"What's that?" She asked with an inquisitive frown.

"It may sound silly, but I have this reputation as a player right. A ladies man….."

She chuckled, "You don't say."

He smiled back, but it quickly faded, "But I'm not really like that." He said turning to face her.

"I know." She whispered. "I know you're not."

"So why do you think I play up to it?"

She shrugged, "It's a guy thing I guess."

He shook his head, "Truth is, I liked having that reputation. I never tried to play it down because it meant I was normal. People saw me as a normal guy, not a person who was abused. Who was weak. Who did these things as a child with a grown….."

He couldn't finish the sentence.

"You know that's nothing to be ashamed of."

He flashed her grateful a small smile, "Emily, every day we tell victims that they shouldn't be ashamed. It's not their fault… and I mean it. I mean every word of it, but when it comes to me….. I can't help it sometimes. I do feel ashamed sometimes."

"I get that Derek. I really do. I can tell you till I'm blue in the face that it is nothing to be ashamed of, but you have to feel it yourself…. No one can tell you how to feel, but may be now people know, it will go away. When you see that no one changes how they see you." She paused for a beat and then continued, "In fact, that's probably not true."

He looked at her more intently, willing her to explain.

"Derek, as a result of what you have done, people can only look at you as being stronger. Being even more of a man if that's possible for admitting what happened….. And you did that to help others; All the past victims. All the future victims and anyone else out there who has been where you have. What you did…. on that news broadcast…. is one of the bravest things I've seen someone do."

He smiled gratefully, then turned his gaze away.

"But why does it bother you?" She continued, "Having this reputation. I don't understand."

He looked back to her, "It's not the fact I have it, it's the fact that I'm happy for people to think I'm something I'm not. That may be they think I look at women in a certain way."

"That's not how people see you. I promise you." She told him, "But what is important is that the people who know you…. Who love you…. They know who you really are Derek."

"I hope so." He uttered.

"I know who you really are." She stressed.

He leant forward and placed both hands over his mouth, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Look." She said, looking around him to catch his eye and make him look back at her, "No one can erase what Buford did to you, but remember that in spite of that….. In spite of what he did to you, you should be proud of the person you turned into."

He looked at her with sad eyes, seemingly unconvinced, so she continued; "You are a good person Derek. You do good things every day that are one more slap in the face of evil. You fight for people, you care about people and you don't give up on anyone. Those are special qualities."

He smiled, sitting back, "I guess Buford had his uses."

She shuffled around a little to fully face him and placed one hand on his thigh. "No Derek." She said firmly, "Buford had nothing to do with the person you are today. Lots of people go through bad…. horrible… nasty things in their lives and they don't turn out the way you have. Give yourself a break. Who you are is all down to you." She paused and smiled warmly at him, "Don't ever change." She whispered.

He smiled tiredly at her, his eyelids drooping just a little, "Thank you." He said, placing his hand atop hers. He squeezed a little, "Thanks for asking me to come. I think it's just what I need."

"You're welcome."

"Promise me one thing." He said, a playfulness glittering in his eyes.

"Anything." She said with a little shake of the head.

"Promise me we that now we've talked about it, we won't think or talk about this anymore this vacation." He said, an exhaustion to his tone.

She smiled widely, "I promise."

"But there is one more thing before I invoke that promise."

"What?" She smiled.

He took one of her hands in both of his, "_You_ have nothing to feel guilty about when it comes to what happened with Doyle. I promise you that not one of us blames you for any of it. You did your job and you did it so well, as you always do, that he fell in love with you and it hurt him…. what you did with his son. But you were only ever doing what you did for the right reasons."

"Thanks Derek but…."

"No." He interrupted, "I'm serious. No one blames you…. _I_ don't blame you."

"Thank you." She uttered.

"So, whenever you're ready, you get your cute butt those four thousand miles back across the ocean to us." He winked.

She half smiled and half laughed, staring at him with a thoughtful gaze…. And he felt it. He felt the intensity and thought it was time to lighten the mood. He was exhausted from everything… the case, the thinking, the travelling, the rollercoaster of emotions, so, he folded his arms across his chest and smirked at her, "So what bad movies you got for us to watch then?"

"Oi!" She protested, playfully slapping his upper arm, "They are not bad movies. I didn't get any chick flicks."

He raised his brow.

"Or anything with subtitles." She added giving him and unimpressed glare.

He laughed and his eyes truly lit up for the first time since she had seen him that day. He lay his head back against the back of the sofa and then let out a long, contemplative breath.

"What?" She asked.

He swallowed and then his smile grew into a more serious one, "I just really miss you that's all." He uttered. "I miss how you make me feel when I'm around you."

Her thoughtful gaze returned along with a smile. She leant forward and placed a soft, lingering kiss to his cheek. As she began to pull away, his face turned and their lips were just an inch apart, their stare locked on to one another, "I miss you too." She whispered.

**So, what did you think? Sorry that it was rushed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for all the reviews on the first chapter. You guys keep me going, you really do. I love Derek & Emily so much, but it makes me so sad that we'll never see them again…. I just cannot leave this ship though. They are too perfect…. Ok, sorry for my ramblings, but I have to vent sometimes ;)**

**So this chapter takes a different focus from the last, but I hope you enjoy. It's a long one.**

"_I miss you too." She whispered…._

They were so close they could feel the warm breath of one another dance upon their skin. A couple of beats passed and in that instant, although they didn't know, both their hearts were beating loud and hard against their chests; What had just happened?

So, she smiled, but it wavered slightly, and in an attempt to keep it in place, she pressed her lips together before she spoke. "May be we should watch that movie now." She suggested, her quiet voice unsure just a little.

His eyes softened and he smiled back, his adam's apple rippling as he swallowed. "Sure." He uttered unconvincingly, "Sounds like a good idea."

He watched her intently as she slipped off the sofa to kneel down next to the large flat screen television, where the stack of DVD's she had hired for his visit stood tall. Her fingers traced down the tower and she went on to avoid anything that may have any element of romance in it; comedy, action, drama….. they were all a gamble, so she eventually settled on a gory horror, that was so far removed from reality that it couldn't remind them of a case, or more importantly, what had just happened. She popped the disc into the DVD player and joined him back on the sofa, not too close, but not too far and both of them kept their eyes firmly facing forward towards the screen until the exhaustion took over and they fell asleep in situ.

Several hours later, he was the first to stir. He looked down to find her head had fallen upon his shoulder and her one hand rested against his thigh. She was still sleeping.

He remained as still as he could until the change in her breathing let him know she was awakening.

"Morning sleepy head." He tiredly smiled as she slowly lifted her head and stared at him quizzically, taking a few seconds to orientate herself.

"It's the morning?" She asked with a frown, her voice gravely as she sat upright.

He chuckled, "Last time I checked, sunlight." He said pointing to the window, "Generally means daytime."

She rubbed each of her eyes in turn, then looked at him as her brain tried to function, "You want coffee?" She asked.

"I think we both need it." He smiled.

"Ok, I'll go make some." She said, beginning to stand up, "D'you sleep ok?"

"Yes." He chuckled, "Although I did think I'd seen the last of this sofa."

"No chance buddy." She said looking down at him, "We're not moving from this thing all day. I've got bad food and a stack of movies remember." She winked as she walked away.

And with that the events of the night before were forgotten about….. At least outwardly they were. They spent the whole day, as she said they would, on the sofa, tucked under her quilted blanket, watching movie after movie. They laughed at them. They laughed at each other… Morgan jumping at the horror, Emily crying at the romcom. They bickered over which movie to watch next. Which flavour of chips was the best. Who made the greatest ice cream sundae. They mused over who was the greatest actor of all time. The greatest movie of all time…. And so it continued. Just as if they had never been apart.

~~CM~~

The following morning, Emily was up first, sat at her breakfast bar as Morgan walked into the room freshly showered.

"Morning." He said cheerily, sitting down on the stool next to her.

"Morning." She smiled back, pushing the hot coffee she had made towards him. "You sleep well?" She asked, hopping down off her stool.

He nodded as he took a sip of the hot liquid, "Your spare bed is much better than that goddamn sofa."

"You really have a thing against my sofa don't you?" She tutted playfully, "Poached egg on toast ok for breakfast?" She asked not giving him time to respond to her sofa jibe.

"Yeah." He silently laughed.

"Oh by the way." She began as she crouched down to retrieve the eggs from the fridge, "Did you bring your work out gear?" She asked, but quickly nodding her head and chuckling to herself, continuing before he could answer, "Of course you bought your work out gear." She uttered, "Gotta keep a strong sexy core." She mocked, mimicking his voice and patting her stomach.

"Ha ha, very funny." He said giving her a quick, unimpressed smirk as she stood up to face him.

"But you have got your stuff right?" She asked with a raised brow.

He sighed heavily in defeat, "Yes. I have my stuff. Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Fancy a run? I feel fat after eating all that junk yesterday, a run will go someway to making me feel better about my sins."

"Sure. A run would be good." He agreed, getting up and making across the room to the window, "But it's still raining." He pointed out, peeking behind the blind out into the distance, seeing the droplets of water pounding into the river Thames.

She chuckled knowingly, "If you don't run when it's raining here, you won't be running very much at all."

"Of course." He conceded with a wry smile, "Road running?"

"No." She shook her head, "There's a park not far from here. I actually really love running there in the rain. It's refreshing."

He smiled, "You sold it."

~~CM~~

A couple of hours later, they were walking slowly side by side in through the gates of the park, a soft shower raining down on them. Derek wore grey shorts over his skin tight black long joggers. He pulled off his sweatshirt, revealing a sleeveless black T-shirt underneath.

"Right." He began. "You ready for this?"

"Sure am." She smiled, tightening up her ponytail, "Here are the rules."

"Rules?" He spat with an unimpressed frown.

"Yes." She told him, ignoring his half protest, "We'll do three laps which is about six miles. We stay together until we get to the green bench on the third lap. Then it's a sprint finish."

"Loser buys lunch?" He guessed.

She scrunched up her nose, "No." She shook her head, "That's getting old now. I'm getting bored of free lunches."

He laughed with a roll of the eyes, "Ok then miss lightening, so what then?"

She stared down at the ground as she thought and he saw a smile creep upon her lips.

"What?" He asked eying her suspiciously.

She looked back up at him, "On Thursdays there's a karaoke night at the pub on the corner of my street…."

Her smile widened as she saw the look of horror form on his face, but ignoring him she continued, "Loser has to sing a song chosen by the winner."

He shook his head, his mouth pursed, "I hate karaoke and you know I can't sing to save my life."

She chuckled, "Where's that fighting spirit Agent Morgan?" She teased, "You sound like you're already resigned to losing."

"Oh no." He uttered, shaking his head, "You don't get off that easily."

"You think you can beat me?" She smirked.

"As long as you don't use any of those dirty moves."

Her mouth fell open feigning shock, "How dare you insinuate I…."

"Rules." He interrupted, "No talking on the third lap. I am not letting you distract me."

"You sound worried Derek."

He pointed at her, "No cheating Emily Prentiss."

She smiled and then began to jog away from him. He stood and watched for a few seconds with his hands on his hips, her pony tail bobbing from side to side, until she eventually turned and jogged backwards, "C'mon." She beckoned with both hands, "Don't wimp out on me now."

He laughed and then lowered his head slightly, pushing off and jogging to catch up to her.

"So." She breathed as they approached the green bench for the third time, "You ready for this?"

"Yes." He said firmly, "And no talking remember."

"Scouts honor." She said, raising three fingers to her forehead.

He shook his head, "You were never a scout." He stated, looking away from her to the bench ahead. "It's on." He said, dipping his head and beginning his sprint.

She joined him a split second later. He was quicker off the blocks than her, but after about fifty meters, she had got her stride and caught him but for a couple of yards. He glanced back to her briefly upon seeing a fork in the pathway ahead, split by a row of trees. She had moved slightly to the left, so assuming she was taking the left fork, he did too, guessing this was either the shortest route, or he could block her off. But as he made it to the first of the trees, he saw her in the corner of his eye whizz past into the right fork.

As she emerged, just a few metres from the finish line, she heard him.

"Jesus Christ!" He yelled.

"No talking you said." She called back to him, glancing over her shoulder to see him splattered in mud, half heartedly trying to catch her, knowing the race was lost.

She jogged to the finish point and turned, him joining her just seconds later.

"You knew that ditch was there." He almost growled at her between deep breaths.

She put her hands on her hips to steady herself, as she too was out of breath, "You accusing me of cheating?"

"You didn't know it was there?" He asked with a raised brow.

"May be you should learn to look where you are going." She answered, "What were you looking at anyway?" She smirked.

He sucked on his bottom lip, gave her a sidewards glance and then began to walk away, "What song I gotta sing then?" He muttered.

~~CM~~

Thursday was her second day back at work since Derek had got to London. On her way home she had stopped at the supermarket as they had practically eaten her cupboards bare. She balanced her handbag over one arm, which was already weighed down by the shopping bags, and unlocked her front door awkwardly. As it flew open from the small kick she gave it, one bag broke and the handbag slipped from her grasp.

"Shit!" She yelped, placing the other bags down and then crouching to pick up the discarded items, frowning as she did so, "What the hell?" She uttered under her voice, hearing music blaring from her stereo. She couldn't believe the neighbours hadn't complained….. She figured they must be big Sam and Dave fans as 'Soul Man' resonated around her building.

She left the contents of the bags on the floor and began to walk towards the source of the loud soulful music and a big smile crept across her face as she heard Derek singing along at the top of his voice.

She found him in the bathroom and she stood in the doorway, arms crossed, leaning up against the frame, watching him; He was on his knees, reaching under her bath, naked from the waist up, his skin glistening from sweat and smeared in various places in a black unknown substance.

She pressed her lips together to stop the sounds of her laughter escape as he sang along to the lyrics with fervour.

'_I'm a soul man! Du dudududu du dududud. I'm a soul man! Du du du!'_

She cleared her throat out to try and grab his attention, but the music and his singing was overbearing, so she stepped in to the room and lightly placed her hand on his waist.

"Shit!" He exclaimed as his head hit the bath.

She grimaced as he moved backwards and out from under the tub, gripping the back of his head.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." She offered as he stood, biting her lip in an attempt to subdue her smile.

He gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes in pain, "Ow." He breathed, then noticing her smirk.

"I'm glad you find my pain so amusing."

She placed her hands over her mouth as a small laugh fell out, "I'm sorry." She chuckled, "But you were singing so loud that…." She halted as she could see he really was in pain, so she closed the gap between them and placed one hand on his arm, "Sit down." She directed, guiding him to sit on the edge of the tub, "Let me have a look."

He shook his head, "It's fine. It's just a bump on the head." He part argued as he sat down.

She grimaced as she saw the blood, "You're bleeding. I think it's just a little nick, but I'll clean it up for you. I doubt the underside of that tub has seen a wash cloth in a long while."

Instinctively he touched the spot that was throbbing and then bought his fingers in front of him to look at the dark red blood.

"Here." She told him, reaching into the cabinet on the wall, "I've some antiseptic. Let me just get some cotton wool and turn that music down. Wait there."

She returned within a few seconds and positioned herself behind him. "This may sting a little." She said, as she poured the cold liquid onto a piece of cotton wool.

He hissed a little as his skin stung just as she had said.

"Sorry." She offered, placing her free hand on his shoulder.

She let a few beats pass as she cleaned up the small wound, "Your voice isn't that bad you know."

His body shook a little as he chuckled, "I thought I'd get some practice in for tonight."

"Fancy yourself as a soul singer eh?"

"Definitely not. I'm sure you wouldn't pick me something so cool to sing anyway. I dread to think what you've got in store for me."

"Aww, you think I'd be that mean?" She teased gently, without thinking, moving her hand from his shoulder and gently running the back of it on his cheek.

Right at that moment she felt him tense a little, but he did not move. She slowly moved her hand away and gently rested it on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes at her touch. It was just a simple touch, but for some reason he didn't want it to leave him. He swallowed hard, waiting for her to say something. To do something. The air was thick and for some reason he suddenly found it odd that he couldn't hear her breathe, yet his breaths felt like they were a hundred decibels loud.

She let her fingers linger upon his flesh. She moved them just slightly so they traced the taught skin that she unexpectedly had the urge to explore further. But, what was she doing? What was going on? Derek Morgan was sat half naked in her bathroom and they were both frozen to the spot. Both of them lost for words. She could feel the rise and fall of his body as he breathed in and out, and she realised her breaths had fallen in time with his. But after a short while, they stuttered as he went to speak.

"I errr….." He began, his voice gruff, having to cough slightly to clear his throat, "Can I have a minute." He almost whispered.

She bit down on her bottom lip and let her hand fall from him, "Sure." She uttered, turning to walk out of the room, glancing back once, not understanding what had just happened.

She spent the following ten minutes attempting to clean the kitchen, but only succeeded in banging and crashing around various pans and crockery, dropping a cup as he approached and called out her name.

"Godammit!" She said, crouching to floor, to pick up the broken pieces, but before she could manage it, she felt his hand on her wrist and she looked up to see him crouched too, right in front of her.

"Leave that." He murmured gently, "I'll do it."

Not letting her go, he guided her to stand up.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, a look of worry painted all over her face.

"What?" He asked looking confused.

"In the bathroom. Did I do something wrong?"

He frowned and shook his head, his lips upturning into a smile, "No of course not. You make a great nurse." He winked.

"So why did you ask me to leave?" She asked a little irritated…. Not at him, just at her inability to understand what was going on.

His smile turned into a small laugh, "Don't be silly. I just have a surprise for you. Turn around."

"What?"

He placed a hand on each of her shoulders, "Just turn around."

As she turned, he then placed his hands around her head and over her eyes, guiding her forward, back towards the bathroom.

As they got to the doorway she felt a waft of hot air hit her and could hear the whirling of water.

She smiled, "You fixed it." She said and he took his hands away.

Her smile widened upon seeing her large whirlpool bath filling with water, bubbling away.

"You came home early." He stated, as if her was telling her off. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

She turned to face him, "It is a surprise." She said.

"I should think so. This thing hasn't worked since you moved in. You promised when me and Garcia were here that you were going to get it fixed."

"I just never got round to it. No time." She defended.

"Pathetic excuse." He playfully scolded, "Now get yourself in that tub and relax before we go out tonight. I'm off to practice my singing some more." He smiled, before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Derek." She called to him, causing him to turn back.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She said softly.

"You're welcome." He uttered.

"And Derek." She continued.

"Yeah?"

"We don't have to go karaoke tonight." She said with a little shake of her head, "There's this really nice restaurant….."

He shrugged, "A bets a bet Emily. But whatever you want."

"I want to go to the restaurant." She told him softly.

"Ok." He whispered, "But I'm paying."

~~CM~~

The restaurant was small and intimate, overlooking the river. The lights were low, and soft piano music played in the background. Their table was right in the corner of the room, dimly lit by the deep red light that was fixed to the ceiling above them.

He looked across the table to her, her face a golden glow from the candle light that separated them, and a reflection of light bouncing off the necklace she wore that hung perfectly in the 'V' shape of her dark burgundy dress.

"So." He said, placing his knife and fork down in the middle of his finished plate of food, "How did you find this place?"

She pursed her lips to the side and he could see her trying to prevent the smirk from forming.

"What?" He smiled.

"I got asked out on a date here." She said coyly.

He attempted to maintain his smile, but it wavered just a little.

"Who'd you go on a date with?" He asked, shuffling in his chair in an attempt to detract from his facial features.

"Oh." She shook her head, "I didn't actually go the date with him." She waved away.

He stopped shuffling and his full smile returned. "So you haven't been here before then?"

"No."

He picked up his glass and took a sip of his red wine, "Who asked you out then?" He asked, placing the glass back down.

"A cop." She stated nonchalantly with a little shrug.

"So why didn't you go? What's wrong with the cop?"

She shook her head, "Nothing I guess. He's actually a nice guy... and pretty..." She halted and pressed her lips together.

He frowned, "Pretty what?"

She exhaled labouredly and then leant back against the back of her chair, "Geez... What's with the Spanish inquisition?"

"It's not." He defended, then checking himself, "I was just wondering what kind of guy does get to take Emily Prentiss to a place like this." He winked, also sitting back.

She folded her arms across her chest, "I bought you here didn't I?"

His eyes widened, "What?"

"What?" She repeated immediately before the word had barely left his lips.

She shuifted in her chair, "I mean…. I mean. I don't know." She stuttered, trying to hide the fluster that was going on inside of her. "I don't know what you're going on about."

He leaned forward, his half smile fading, "Seriously Em, why haven't you gone on a date?" His tone was low, but gentle.

She stared him in the eye, trying to read him. She couldn't tell if he was concerned, accusatory, nosey, about to tease her. But she didn't like this line of questioning, whatever the motive, so she did what she did best.

"Why haven't _you_ gone on a date?" She threw back at him.

His mouth fell open a little, surprised at her jibe, but it only took a few seconds for him to realise he shouldn't have been surprised at all. So he let a few beats pass, holding her stare before breaking out into small, warm laughter, her joining him.

"Shall we leave this conversation right here?" He suggested.

"Yes please." She answered with a grateful smile.

~~CM~~

The following day Emily sat at her desk with a stack of case files in front of her that had barely gone down since she had come into work that morning. She balanced her elbow on the edge of the table, her chin resting upon her palm, absently staring out of the window. The pen in the other hand doodled absently on the scrap of paper in front of her.

She sighed as she heard her cell beep, having expected a text from Clyde Easter for the past few days with news of whether she was winning the next covert op that would take at least the next four months and thus giving her no prospect of any time off at all.

Reluctantly, she lifted her head and slowly reached for the cell from the opposite side of the desk.

But her mood changed instantly and she smiled warmly as she read the screen.

'_What time you finishing today? Dx'_

'Should be back around 4. Ex'

'_Any earlier? Dxxx'_

'Why? Exxx'

'_Dxxxxx'_

'What are you up to Derek Morgan? I'll try. Exxx'

'_:D Dxxx.'_

Three hours later they both sat on the tartan blanket he had laid on the grass, looking out on to the vast lake of the park they had been running in just a few days ago. Today though, the sun was blazing down on them and the park was awash with families, couples, runners, solitary people reading, listening to music, or just lay back enjoying the good weather they had lacked for so long.

Derek reached over and popped the bottle of sparkling wine and nodded his head towards the two tall wine glasses, indicating for Emily to hold them up so he could pour.

"I'm not a cheapskate you know." He said as the fizzy liquid filled up each glass, "I thought champagne may be a bit grand for an afternoon picnic."

She smiled widely and chuckled lightly, "This is great. I love it."

He smiled back and took one of the glasses from her, clinking it against hers and they both took a sip.

"I just wanted to make up for last night." He said, with a small, but genuine smile.

"Hey. You have nothing to make up for."

"I do." He whispered, "I shouldn't have pushed you about the date thing. It's not my business."

Any hint of a smile on her lips faded and she swallowed nervously. She didn't like that last sentence.

"Why _did_ you ask?" She asked quietly.

His dark eyes bore into hers like he was trying to tell her something, but it wasn't working. So eventually, his lips parted, "I….." He began, but suddenly his whole body jolted back, "Whoa!" Derek called as a dark blue and white ball rolled across their blanket into the bottle of wine. He quickly snatched forward and just about stopped it from spilling onto the ground.

"Alex!" A tall, light brown haired lady shouted after the little boy who was running towards Derek and Emily. "I told you to be careful." She scolded.

The boy, dressed in a pair of red shorts and red and white striped t-shirt, ran and halted in front of the edge of the blanket, eying Derek.

"This your soccer ball?" He asked, holding out the ball to the boy.

"I'm so sorry." The boy's mother said, slightly out of breath, "Did it ruin anything?"

"No." Emily smiled, "It's fine. Don't worry.""

"Hey mister." The boy said looking at Derek, "You wanna play football with me?"

"No Alex." His mother scoffed, taking hold of the boy's arm, "Let's leave these people alone."

"It's ok." Derek smiled towards the stressed looking woman, then back to the boy, "You mean soccer."

"Eh?" Alex muttered, scrunching up his face.

"Oi." Emily said, patting Derek's thigh, "Remember where we are." She playfully chided.

He chuckled and then looked back to the boy.

"So will you play with me?" Alex asked.

Derek looked at Emily with a raised brow and she smiled with an encouraging nod.

He reached over and lightly squeezed her shoulder, "I'll be real quick." He whispered, before jumping up and jogging to an open space.

"I'm so sorry." The woman said standing over Emily, pulling her out of her trance as she watched Derek with the young boy.

The brunette looked upwards, squinting as the sun assaulted her eyes.

"Oh, don't be silly." She replied, "I think Derek wanted to play as much as your son. Boys will always be boys." She chuckled, "You wanna join me for a bit?" She offered patting the blanket next to her, indicating for the woman to sit down.

"Thank you." She replied, "I'm so exhausted."

"He keeps you busy eh?"

"Yeah." She sighed as she took a seat and let her body relax.

"Emily." The brunette said, holding out a hand.

"Alice." The woman responded, shaking Emily's hand lightly. "Your husband is good with kids."

Emily smiled knowingly, but quickly realised what the woman had just said, "Oh he's not my husband." She shook her head.

The woman glanced down at Emily's hand, "Oh silly me. No ring. You're not married. Well, your boyfriend is good with kids….. and romantic I see." She smiled towards the picnic basket filled to the brim.

"Yeah he is." Emily said contemplatively, not being able to disagree with either observation. "You want some strawberries?" Emily asked, handing the plastic Tupperware box to the women, packed with the large juicy fruit.

"Oh I couldn't." Alice said shaking her head, but her eyes contradicting.

"Please. Have some. He bought way too much food for the two of us."

The woman smiled and carefully chose the biggest looking strawberry, "Thank you." She said, taking a bite.

They sat in silence for just a few seconds, both of the women watching the young boy give Derek instructions on what he should be doing.

Alice was the first to break the pause in conversation, "So are you two here on holiday?"

"No. I work here. Derek is just visiting."

"Oh right. A long distance relationship. He's still in the States?"

Emily nodded, her lips pressed together regretfully, "But we're not really in a long distance relationship."

The woman scrunched up her nose, "You're not? You could have fooled me. If this isn't one of the most romantic things two people could do..." She said indicating with a nod of the head towards the food and drink, "Whose idea was it?"

"Derek's" She answered sheepishly.

"Look, I'm no expert, but men don't do this kind of thing for friends."

Emily didn't answer, she was lost for words and looked at the woman with bewildered eyes.

"Is it the distance thing?" The woman asked, "I mean, I get that it makes it complicated, but I have these friends that..." She halted and glanced to Emily before bursting into a small laugh, "Oh gees listen to me wittering on at you and I don't even know you... It's just I don't get much adult company, just seven year old boys really, so when..." She halted and shook her head, closing her eyes, no doubt berating herself inside, "Oh I'm doing it again. I'm sorry."

Emily smiled warmly, but the words 'long distance' resonated through her mind. She hadn't been considering a long distance relationship. She hadn't even been considering a relationship... not really. Not consciously. Not that she had had the guts to admit to herself. But now. Now this stranger was putting problems in her head for something that was never an issue.

"Please, it's fine." The brunette encouraged, "Tell me about your friends. How did it work out for them?"

Alice smiled warmly, "Well…."

~~CM~~

"So." He said, flopping down onto the sofa next to her, handing her an ice cold bottle of beer and keeping one for himself, "What do you fancy doing tonight? You haven't got the pleasure of my company for much longer." He winked.

She let a small laugh escape her lips and then gave the obligatory roll of her eyes, but it wasn't a beat or two later that the smile waned. As she stared at him, his expression turned from one of Derek Morgan cheekiness to one more serious and the air suddenly became thick with intensity.

"Emily." He murmured, his tone deep and serious. He went to hold out a hand, but she reacted too quickly, halting his movement.

"Actually." She began, shifting a little nervously in her seat and taking a quick sip of the cold beer, "There is a little..." She stopped and then shook her head, "Oh no, it doesn't matter."

"What?"

"There's a little jazz place down the road. I've been meaning to try it out for ages, but I know you're not a jazz fan, so it doesn't matter."

His brow raised, "I like jazz." He stated.

"Since when?" She frowned.

He leant forward and placed his bottle on the coffee table, looking back over his shoulder to her, "Since a certain person made me listen to it on the jet back from Alabama.' He told her, leaning back into the soft fabric. "Remember? I couldn't sleep and I was annoying because I kept talking. You plugged my headphones into your MP3 player and cranked up Miles Davis."

Her lips formed into a slow smile, "You remember that?"

"Course I do. After that I got me some Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson..."

He halted when he saw the surprise in her eyes. "I'm impressed." She said.

He shook his head as if he were disbelieving, "I mean, how cool is the saxophone... like seriously?"

She smiled and then nodded her agreement, "Probably the coolest instrument there is."

His smile levelled off as he looked downward in thought.

She let a moment pass before speaking again, "What?" She asked him softly.

He looked up to her with a sleepy smile, "I always wished I'd learnt to play something. I just never knew what to try. If only I'd of paid attention to this stuff when I was younger."

"You could still learn." She stated as a matter of fact.

He smiled at the simplicity of her words and a comfortable silence fell over them, allowing him to remember.

"You know." He said, recatching her attention, "When I listen to that music, it always reminds me of you."

She gazed at him intently, her smile widening as she did and she couldn't help but swallow, giving away that little nervousness in the pit of her stomach. She didn't even know why she was nervous, but his tone. The way he looked at her. The words he used... They all made her feel like she was the only person in the world to him at that moment and it made her anxious because she felt like she owed him the same feeling back... No, not that she owed him... that she _wanted_ to give it back. Make him feel how he made her feel. She just didn't know how.

And she was the only person in the world to him right now. He had felt like this so many times, but as he stared back at her, he resolved to make sure his expression didn't give away everything that he was really thinking of. He wasn't going to tell her that there was seven months that he would not listen to that music at all. He could not listen to it….. Except that one time; The night after the funeral.

_He trudged through his front door, the house cold, dark and silent, and without turning a solitary light on, he just slowly walked to his living room, pressed play on the stereo and sat in the middle of his sofa, elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. The beautiful, soft, tuneful music resonated through his house, the pitch dark just heightening the effect of the melody throughout his body. And that was the time…. He remembered it clearly. The exact minute he vowed he would never rest until Ian Doyle paid for what he had done. And he didn't._

~~CM~~

That night, they walked along the edge of the river, the moonlight reflecting in the gentle rippling water. The three piece jazz band had been perfect. The wine and atmosphere had been perfect. The company had been perfect.

After they left the bar, they both remained silent. There was something about the gentle, warming music that had taken them both to a place where they just had no words. Where they just needed no words.

He glanced over at her though and noticed she had placed her hands around the tops of her bare arms. Since the sun had gone in earlier that day, there was a little cold nip to the air, but Emily did apparently not feel it; Perhaps a mixture of the wine still pumping around her blood, and the feeling of contentment after the most relaxing evening she'd had, probably since JJ's wedding. He slipped off the thin jacket he wore and he pondered for a split second upon the fact he could gloat... _she_ had been the one to say they wouldn't need a jacket. _He_ had said 'you always need a jacket in London'... but she had insisted she didn't need one….. but he wouldn't gloat. Not tonight.

He placed the fabric over her shoulders and she turned giving a small smile in gratitude. Their stare remained for a few seconds, he returning the smile before there was a flash of shyness in her eyes and she turned her gaze back in front of them, continuing to walk slowly.

And they remained in silence;

She was thinking about having him here; When she invited him over, she didn't think about the fact that it would be just the two of them, twenty four seven for two weeks. It's not that they had ever felt uncomfortable in each other's company, but living together in a small space for two weeks was an entirely different story. She had resigned herself in life to the thought that she wouldn't be able to do that with anyone. Ever….. But instead, she thought about how since the moment he had gotten there, she had felt at ease. She had laughed, had fun, enjoyed the place she had lived in for the past year, more than she ever had. It was easy with him. She didn't worry about the things she did. The things she said. She was a nerd and he knew it and it had never phased him since the day he discovered it. He didn't make her feel like others had done. She had her quirks. He knew all about those too, and although he teased her on occasion, in the main he embraced them, and just joined in with her. Every time she revealed something new to him, she would watch him intently, examining him for any hint of something negative because she cared about what he thought. But it never came. He just gave her that look. That smile that said that he just liked her more for the new thing he had just learned about her.

He too thought about being here with her. How, as much as it had made him nervous, flying those four thousand miles to see her, knowing that they would be talking about Buford, he didn't need to think twice. He knew he would be ok. That she would make him feel ok. His nervousness was her knowing what Buford had done to him, but she couldn't have made him feel more at ease with her knowing…. With everybody knowing.

He knew he could tell her anything. Vent to her. Sound off to her and she would just get it. She had always understood where he was coming from and even if she didn't agree with him, she always knew how to handle it…. she could be reason with him, talking it through with him, or just saying nothing at all… Just a touch. Just a look. That's all he needed sometimes to know someone understood. That she understood. And he loved her for the fact she had never stopped doing that for him since she left. She was still there.

And he knew Emily Prentiss didn't just allow anyone into her life the way she had him. And although she still had those walls, just as much as he did, he knew that when it was just the two of them, sat on her sofa, running in the park, eating at restaurant or sitting by the lake, that's when she relaxed. When he relaxed. When the real Emily Prentiss surfaced, and he felt honoured for being that person that she could let go with.

But for how long? How long before someone else came along and took that role from him? She wanted to tell him... She wanted to tell him thank you. For everything. For making her feel the way she did. For all the little things he did to make her feel good. To feel special. To feel wanted… To feel loved.

So she stopped walking.

It took him just a few paces to realise she was no longer by his side. So he stopped too and turned to look at her.

"What's up?" He asked.

His brow furrowed slightly upon seeing her. She was staring at him intently, a look of slight fear painting her features. She had her arms in front of her, picking at her small finger with the thumb nail of her opposite hand. So he closed the gap between them, halting just a step in front of her.

His brow lifted, silently questioning her.

Her mouth fell open and he saw her chest expand as she took a breath before beginning to speak, but just as she was about to, her lips closed again and she pressed her lips together. He looked down feeling her slight touch on both of his wrists as her fingers lay gently on his skin. When his eyes darted back up to meet hers, he was sure he saw the slightest of nods. He was not sure, however, of what she was nodding for until he felt the fingers of her right hand snake around one finger on his left hand and tug gently.

The intense look in her eyes was all he needed to understand what was going on. He took one more step towards her, the tips of their shoes touching and he wrapped his big hands around her small ones, squeezing gently as he bowed his head just an inch or two. He felt her squeeze back as she tilted her head slightly and reached it forward.

He didn't have to ask her if she was sure. There was no chance he had read this situation wrong. And there was no option... not one other thing that he could do right now than close the small gap that was left between them and place his full lips upon hers.

As his mouth lay lazily upon hers, he reached up and cupped her face in his hands, not wanting this moment to stop short. Her hands moved naturally to his waist and she pulled gently on his hips, stepping backwards until her back hit the wall behind her allowing it to take the weight of her body.

Understanding that his wish was granted, and this was not going to be short lived, he parted his lips slightly, waiting for that permission to deepen the kiss. But it didn't come. Instead she took matters in to her own hands and let her lips assault his a little harder, their teeth crashing together and their tongues coiling around one another.

She let her hands wander around the back of his waist, and not meaning to, they slid underneath his untucked shirt and onto his hot flesh. She was about to pull them away until she felt him smile against her and a small puff of breath escape his mouth, so she didn't have the heart.

She smiled herself as she felt his hands rest upon the top of the plump flesh of her ass cheeks over her dress, but after a few seconds she couldn't help the chortle of laughter that fell from her lips, breaking the kiss and causing him to pull his head back to look at her properly.

"What?" He asked, half a smirk and half a frown adorning his expression.

She moved her head from side to side, looking around them and then back to him, the big playful grin still in effect.

"We're like a couple of teenagers." She whispered, even though there was no one in sight that could hear.

His eyes sparkled as his whole face smiled at her, "So when was the last time you were up against a wall... well doing this." He said, not making any attempt to move his body away from hers.

Her brow raised as her eyes widened and she shook her head slightly, "Way too long ago." She sighed. "You?"

He stared at her with a thoughtful gaze, "You know, I have no idea." He shook his head, "The only thing I can think about right now is you."

She reached up on tiptoe and placed a chaste, sweet kiss upon his lips, "C'mon." She whispered into him, "Let's go home."

They began to walk the short distance back to her place and after a few paces, he ignored the nervous pounding in his chest, reaching over to grasp her hand in his. He didn't turn to look at her, but could see, out of the corner of his eye, that she had turned to glance at him. But what he couldn't see was the warm, beautiful, demure smile that painted her lips.

They remained in silence the whole distance. They remained in silence as she slowly unlocked the door to her flat. They remained in silence as she locked it up behind them. And they remained in silence as she took his hand and led him to her bedroom.

Usually he would hesitate and ask her if she was sure. Usually he would hesitate because she was his friend; A close friend. A best friend. A friend that he knew crossing this line with would change things forever.

But he didn't need to ask. He knew she was sure… And he knew he was sure that changing things forever was just what he wanted.

**Hope you enjoyed that Derek & Emily fluffiness! They just need to be together! **

**I have marked this as complete, but I guess that I could write something M rated about what happens next if you like?**


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